Pitching yips

[Ken B]

My guess is she is aiming and changing mechanics to do so. If the below shot is representative of her normal posture and lack of forearm brush, I think it would compound the issue.



Work on upright posture and releasing much closer to the thigh.

 

[NEF]

One area pitching coach my oldest DD saw, used a 1,2,3 counting drill. (1) would be the back swing or set to the side position, (2) would be the push off, (3) is the release. Almost a decade later if she loses the zone she'll use a silent 1,2,3 count and begins throwing strikes again. I think it helps to take the focus off thinking too much, aiming, and helps her rhythm.

 

[sluggers]

She is 11yr old 10u pitcher. ... Not sure what to do.

Get her an ice cream cone and you a Xanax.

KenB is 100% on point. Your DD's arm is "separating" from her body.

My guess? She is beginning to mature, so her body is changing. She is trying to avoid hitting her hips with her arm, so she is swinging her fore arm out. She is also developing the dread "butt out" disease when she throws.

Just to review:

The arm brushing the hips is called "brush interference". Brush interference is the *KEY* to control.

View attachment 11684

As Ken said, she needs to work on her posture. She needs to stand up, tuck her butt in, and bring her forearm close to her body.

She needs to feel the arm brushing her hip. One thing that might help is for her to wear an oversized T-shirt. She should be able to feel *and* hear the arm hitting the t-shirt when she throws.

You can remind her to "ttand tall, get your butt in, don't bend over at release."

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

Calm down. Take her to Disneyland or better yet buy her a new car, a Mercedes!! Ok sorry Disneyland is way to expensive. Point I'm getting at is get away from softball. Take her hiking or something out of her comfort zone. Like some have said. You have to put it down for a while.

 

[Ken B]

She needs to feel the arm brushing her hip. One thing that might help is for her to wear an oversized T-shirt. She should be able to feel *and* hear the arm hitting the t-shirt when she throws.

I tell the kids to practice in a fitted top and a little baggier shorts or sweats. A long sleeved/baggy top hides lag/flexion and makes it harder for the catcher/parent to see brush. The baggier pants make it a little easier to feel the pinky brush the fabric. It only takes one session of breaking out the flap for them to get the message!

 

[sleepwalker]

About 12 years ago, my dd was pitching in a 10U tournament. She struggled the 1st two innings with control and accuracy. At the start of the 3rd inning, I went out and caught for my dd while the catcher was suiting up. As I got behind the plate to catch, I yelled at my dd to close her eyes and pitch as hard as she could. She threw five really well thrown warm up pitches with her eyes closed. After she threw the pitches, I would hold the position of the glove where I caught the pitch, so that she could have immediate feedback. She then proceeded to strike out the side during the next two innings. After the game, the father of a girl on the opposing team approached me and asked, "How can a girl pitch a ball with her eyes closed?"

I then proceeded to tell the father that my dd used forearm brush as her key to releasing the ball. When my dd's arm brushed her hip, she would release the ball. If she released the ball at the same time on every pitch, her accuracy would be very good. When my dd would close her eyes, it would force her to rely on her forearm brush to release the ball. I have always maintained that a softball pitcher can pitch with relative accuracy with her eyes closed if they release the ball with brush interference. (As a side note, that opposing pitcher is pitching in her senior year of college this year.)

My dd has had the "pitching yips" several times throughout her softball career. Every time that she has had the yips, I've had her pitch with her eyes closed and try to rely on the basic fundamentals of pitching and trusting her pitching mechanics. If she has had forearm brush but isn't currently using it, she will surely use it with her eyes closed. If she has never had forearm brush, now would be an excellent time to read the brush interference threads at DFP and implement the excellent information.

Having my dd pitch with her eyes closed has been very beneficial to my dd over the years when trying to fix the pitching yips.

 

[catmaster]

Thanks for the help. The picture that Ken posted is a year old. In the video I posted she is getting a little more brush. Still has a slight tilt.

 

[Ken B]

Here's a snip from the newer video: